Relief goods trickle into mudslide-devastated Philippine province

Dec 4, 2006, 9:59 GMT

Manila - Relief goods on Monday trickled into an eastern Philippine province devastated by mudslides, which were estimated to have killed more than 1,000 people, officials said.

Presidential Chief of Staff Michael Defensor visited areas ravaged by the mudslides at the foot of Mayon Volcano in Albay province, 330 kilometres south of Manila.

The tragedy was triggered by heavy rains brought about by typhoon Durian, which slammed the Philippines last Thursday with maximum sustained winds of up to 190 kilometres south of Manila.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo declared a state of national calamity late Sunday and ordered the release of one billion pesos (20 million dollars) as local officials pleaded for food, water and medicine.

Survivors clawed through metres-deep mud in a desperate attempt to recover whatever remained of their loved ones buried in the volcanic debris and boulders.

Maricel Arevalo, 38, walked through the wasteland where her house once stood in Cagsawa village in Daraga town at the foot of Mayon Volcano, hoping to see her missing three children aged between eight and 12 years old.

'They were here,' she told the Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa as she walked aimlessly on debris and boulders. 'We were here. This is where our house stood. Yes, this is where our house once stood.'

Arevalo, whose family evacuated from their house a few months ago to escape the wrath of the erupting Mayon Volcano, could not believe that it was eventually the tempestous volcano that got her children.

'We have stayed in this village for 12 years since we got married, since I gave birth to my eldest daughter,' she added. 'Sudddenly, my family is gone.'

Arevalo said her husband remained in the hospital since he could not move his feet after these were badly injured in the mudslides.

Philippine military aircraft have been ferrying supplies from Manila to the provincial capital city of Legazpi to alleviate the suffering of the survivors.

Philippine Red Cross officials said foreign aid have also began trickling into more than one million residents adversely affected by the disaster.

More humanitarian aid were expected from Japan, Indonesia and Malaysia, while cash is being sent from the United Nations and the governments of Canada and Australia.

Japan is sending tents, blankets, generators and water tankers. Malaysia has dispatched a C-130 transport aircraft with 20 tonnes of medicine and food, while Indonesia sent two aircraft with emergency aid.

The National Disaster Coordinating Centre said it has confirmed 450 dead due to Durian, most of whom were killed in the mudslides around Mayon Volcano, and listed a further 599 people as missing.

Senator Richard Gordon, chairman of Red Cross, said the actual death toll could be more than 1,000.

Mass burials were held in Legazpi City and the nearby towns of Daraga and Guinobatan, where many of the missing were reported.

Government scientists said that Durian's heavy rains loosened volcanic debris on the upper slopes of Mayon, setting off the deadly mudflows that buried surrounding communities.

Mayon spewed lava, molten rocks, ashes and volcanic debris in July and August in a 'quiet eruption' that attracted tourists. The tons of debris were deposited at its slopes and had hardened over time.

While authorities have declared a permanent danger zone within a 6-kilometre radius of Mayon's summit, many people, especially farmers, still reside on the fertile lands in the area.

Durian was the fourth powerful typhoon to batter the Philippines since late September. In all, more than 250 people were killed in the three previous typhoons.